After my last post proposing a possible link between the Silk Dress Cipher and Orphan Trains, I widened my search a little to take in 19th Century Baltimore orphanages. What kind of archival sources might still exist, in a town where 1,500 buildings were destroyed by fire in 1904?
But rather than look directly, I decided to instead first try to find any books or studies on 19th century Baltimore orphanages. And it turns out that (unless you know otherwise) there are only really two of those to consider…
Baltimore orphanages #1 – Marcy Kay Wilson
The first is “Dear Little Living Arguments”: Orphans and Other Poor Children, Their Families and Orphanages, Baltimore and Liverpool, 1840-1910, a freely downloadable 2009 dissertation by Marcy Kay Wilson at the University of Maryland:
The two Baltimore orphanages that I examine are the Home of the Friendless of Baltimore City (HOF), which was established in 1854, and the Baltimore Orphan Asylum (BOA). The latter was known as the Female Humane Association Charity School (FHACS) at the time of its incorporation in 1801. Six years later (1807), it was reincorporated as the Orphaline Charity School (OCS). It was renamed the Baltimore Female Orphan Asylum (BFOA) in 1826, and finally became known as the BOA in 1849. [pp.10-11]
Her primary sources for the Baltimore Orphan Asylum (in the Woodbourne Collection of the Maryland State Archives) include:
* Board Minutes (1881-1897, 1905-1921)
* Monthly Reports (1893-1917)
* Annual Reports (1860-1930)
For the Home of the Friendless of Baltimore City, the same Woodbourne Collection holds:
* Annual Reports (1854-1914)
* Constitution and By-Laws, 1859.
* Charter and By-Laws, revised 1904.
* Board Minutes (1901-1913)
Also (even though I’m not initially looking at Catholic orphanages):
The female-religious order known as the Oblate Sisters of Providence (OSP) granted me access to its records, which are housed at Our Lady of Mount Providence Convent in Baltimore. The OSP has the distinction of being the oldest Catholic religious order for African-American women in the United States, and was created in 1829. [p.13]
I’ve started to patiently work my way through its 402 pages, but I’ll be a little while. It turns out that orphanages sprung up all over America during the 19th century, initially triggered by the family-destroying ravages of cholera epidemics… so best not hold your breath, then. 🙂
Baltimore orphanages #2 – Nurith Zmora
Marcy Kay Wilson refers early on to Nurith Zmora’s Orphanages Reconsidered: Child Care Institutions in Progressive Era Baltimore (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1994).
Zmora used the records of the Samuel Ready School for Orphan Girls (which opened in 1887, and whose archives are in the special collections of the Langsdale Library at the University of Baltimore), the Hebrew Orphan Asylum (whose records are now held by the Maryland Jewish Historical Society), and the Dolan Children’s Aid Society (whose records are in the Children’s Bureau archive of the Associated Catholic Charities of Baltimore).
Though Wilson and (the far more revisionist, it has to be said) Zmora both offer fascinating insights into the social and political dynamics underpinning Baltimore’s orphanages, it’s hard not to conclude that their efforts sit somewhat at right-angles to our present angle: and it also has to be said that there is not a hint of the whole Orphan Trains narrative emerging from the various archives so far. But… perhaps this is all just the tip of an evidential iceberg. 😉
Other sources
There were a number of other books that kept coming up during my literature trawl, that I thought I ought to mention:
Second Home: Orphan Asylums and Poor Families in America by Timothy A. Hacsi (Harvard University Press).
Clement, Priscilla Ferguson, “Growing Pains: Children in the Industrial Age, 1850-1890”, New York: Twayne Publishers, 1997. [Wilson points to p.200]
Holt, Marilyn. “The Orphan Trains: Placing Out in America. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1992. [Wilson points to pp.80-117]
O’Connor, Stephen. “Orphan Trains: The Story of Charles Loring Brace and the Children He Saved and Failed”. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2001.
Crooks, James B. “Politics and Progress; The Rise of Progressivism in Baltimore, 1895 to 1911”. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1968.

I think my great grandfather may have been in the orphanage. Is there any way I can find this out? His name was Joseph William Armhold. Born in 1898. (or 1899)
I just found out my grandfather was in the orphanage in 1875 to 1885 Ohio, I found a letter that stated he was abandoned as a child and was in and out of orphanages I always thought this but now I have some facts but now the work begins, he said he used the names of his foster parents Tangled in all of his name’s first last and middle, find the 1900 census you may be able to find a census for the orphanages in the area he was born
1920 census show my Grandmother Alice Healy in an orphanage in Baltimore City at 215 North Strickler St
I can’t find any info on this facility.
Any help please
Tara Armhold Tay
Darleen Allwein,
215 N. Stricker Street, Baltimore, Maryland was known as Baltimore Orphanage in 1900. Later from 1916-17 it was known as Baltimore Orphan Asylum. Enter ” 215 North Stricker Street, Baltimore, MD 1920 “. German Marylanders Site will appear. ED-265 June 4, 1900. Above on left top there is ” MISCELLANEOUS A to Z ” and ” German Orphan Home “. From what I understand, at least one of Grandparents had to be of Germanic Descent in order for the child or children to be placed there. I hope that this information helps each of you.
I am looking for information about my grandmother who was removed from her parents with four older siblings in Baltimore in 1907. All I know is that she grew up in a facility for girls run by nuns. The girls were taught to sew and made clothing for Baltimore’s society ladies, especially wedding gowns. The girls and nuns walked downtown at Christmas time to purchase gifts. Each girl was given twenty-five cents. My grandmother didn’t say the name of the convent school, if that’s what it was. I would deeply appreciate any information about it.
Hi Theresa,
The most obvious place to start would be the 1910 census for Baltimore, but I couldn’t see that anywhere online (which I’m guessing you already knew). I would think you can track this down via here: https://www.archives.gov/research/census
As far as finding out more about Baltimore’s orphanages (specifically the ones run by nuns), I strongly recommend going through Marcy Kay Wilson’s dissertation (link in the post) and Nurith Zmora’s book “Orphanages Reconsidered: Childcare Institutions in Progressive Era Baltimore”.
These should give you a a feel for how orphanages (or at least, those ones whose archives have survived) were funded and run: for example, Wilson talks (briefly) about mantua-making (which I think is a fascinating yet little-known historical topic all on its own) and dressmaking (p.249).
At the very least, you should be able to use these to draw up a (fairly short) list of religious orphanages in Baltimore.
Cheers, Nick
I’m trying to find the records of the Nursey and Child’s Hospital for the 1890-1895 time frame when my grandmother resided there. I thought I would contact Marcia Kay Wilson to see if she had encountered them but don’t know how to find her. If anyone has any suggestions, please help. Thanks – Gail
My grandmother and aunt were in a Jewish orphanage in Baltimore in the early 1900s.Their names are Gertrude Nadel, and Anna Irene Nadel. Their parents were Aaron and Mary Nadel.
Looking for information. Thank you for your help.
Michelle Gellman.
Michelle,
I can’t find any trace of Aaron and Mary using the usual search tools. That is not to say that they can’t be found, just that it might be a difficult search. If you are looking to trace the ancestry of Aaron and Mary I suggest that the easy way to do that is to take the 23andme DNA test. This company has by far the largest Jewish DNA database and I would be confident that the test would at a minimum show up DNA matches at the third cousin level. From there it would be relatively straightforward to link these DNA matches up to Aaron and Mary.
Judging from my experience with Australian orphanage records I would expect that trying to get anywhere with 100 year old orphanage records would be a big ask. IMHO.
DNA tells the truth. Official and private records often do not.
Gail,
a Marcia Kay Wilson died in 2017. “Marcia Kay Wilson 67, of Indianapolis, passed away on March 25, 2017. She was born on September 23, 1949 to the late James H. and Ellen Montgomery in Indianapolis, IN”
There is/was more than one Marcia Kay Wilson in the USA but this lady seems to be the best fit.
I AM SEARCHING FOR INFORMATION ON FRANK BELL BORN BETWEEN 1880 TO 1882, DEC 25TH. SUPPOSEDLY HAD SISTER WHO VISITED HIM IN WV. FRANK B BELL IS MY BIOLOGICAL GRANDFATHER AND I CAN NOT LOCATE ANY PROOF OF HIS BIRTH. PLEASE CONTACT. ME.
JEAN LONG: would that be Frank Bernard Bell, born 25 Dec 1882, Baltimore County, Maryland, died 1964, married Mary Frances Elizabeth Milton in 1900: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/2:2:3G7B-TJJ (private family tree of Michael D. Roth)?
There are lots of other people called Frank/Francis Bell, but this one jumped out at me.
Jean Long,
WW2 USA Draft Registration records; Frank Bernard Bell born 25th December 1880 Living (as at 27th April 1942) at R.2 Mannings, Harper’s Ferry Jeff. Co. WVA. Born “MO”? “Ixio”? county Baltimore.
Wife Mary F. Bell at same address. Employed at “W.P.A.” Jefferson Co. Place of employment “Charles Town” Jeff. Co. WVA. 5 feet eight inches. 182 pounds. Brown eyes. Brown hair.
Ancestry has thirty three family trees that include him.
Frank Bernard Burnett “Booby””Judge of the Mountain””Burnet” Bell
Born 25th December 1880 Baltimore, Maryland. Married 23rd March 1904 Jefferson WVA to Mary Frances Milton 1885-1971
Died 13th May 1964 at Charles Town, WVA
Jean Long.
Frank Bernard Bell and his wife had four daughters and two sons.
Alice C (Virginia) m Stagner 1905-1984
Rose Etta m 1) Chamblin 2) Prather 1909-2000
Frank Wilmer Bell 1911-1978
Nellie May 1913-1999
James Cleveland Bell 1918-1985
Frances Virginia m 1) Gillespie 2) Speck 1919-2007
Grandfather and his sister were residents in the Home of the Friendless abt 1905. Their parents were married in Hagerstown Md, according to records I found at the MSA, the children were also born in Hagerstown. Assuming that the children’s birth records would have been given to the orphanage, where can I find these birth records now?
I have done research for some time now and tried to find information at the Maryland Archives with no luck. Hers what I have known as told to me by my mother years ago. I’am looking for records on a Rudolph Ruppers who may have been born in Germany, immigrated to Maryland not sure of the date but he was in the Civil war on the Confederate side. He was taken as a prisoner at the Battle of Antietam. War records show someone that died with a similar name., However my Great Great Grandfather survived the War. He had married someone named Anna. Their first child was born in August 1870 name Robert Edward Lee Ruppers, (he always went by Edward and was my Great-grandfather), 2nd son born William Paul Ruppers born in 1872. Now for the the Orphan situations. Story is the boys were orphaned, don’t know if they were full orphans, but they were taken in by a family named ‘Beall’ who raised them as Catholic. I cannot find Edward Ruppers activity until 1896 in Wisconsin and then Chicago and have no problem finding that info. However I thought maybe there could be some type of paper trail of there life in Maryland, so far nothing. Edward was consistent showing Maryland was where he was from on all records since 1896. William puts New York, but that is from Census info, and not reliable. Any help out there,
I have been searching for my grandmother’s relatives. Her name was Margaret Barry. She was raised in an orphanage in Maryland in the early 1900’s. She was born in 1900. She later married Bernard Heslin in New York, New York. I have not been able to find any birth records for her. Would love to know who her parents were, or any blood relatives. Any help is most appreciated. Thank you!